What's a cupcake baker to do?
One option is to make the whipped cream frosting on site, which is messy - and who wants to shlep ingredients along to the party?
A better option is to use a cream whipper.
A cream whipper is an aluminum canister with a nitrous oxide charger that makes whipped cream on the fly. With a cream whipper, you can keep your cupcakes at room temperature and only worry about keeping the cream whipper cold (easily achieved in a small cooler). It's basically like making your own fresh Reddi-Whip.
The only downside of the cream whipper is that you can't put anything in it that isn't liquid or easily dissolved in liquid - so whipped cream with pieces of fruit, zest, or chunks of anything is out.
I was lucky enough to receive a free Liss Dessert Chef Cream Whipper to try out. But, they really aren't as expensive to buy as you might think. Liss is offering an awesome deal just for Cupcake Project readers. You can get one directly from them for $35.95.
Once I figured out how to use the cream whipper (the instructions were quite confusing), I really loved the product.
Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Lis Dessert Chef Cream Whipper
1. Begin by putting in your ingredients. A basic whipped cream frosting contains 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Add to that whatever flavors you like. For example, I made a lemon ginger whipped cream by adding 1/2 t lemon extract and 1/2 t ground ginger to the cream and sugar.
2. Put the rubber ring seals on top of the canister.
3. Screw on the top.
4. The charger (the thing that looks like a little bullet) comes in a separate box. Place a charger in the charger holder and screw it on to the lid. It may make a hissing sound. Do not fear. Note that you can only use a charger one time.
6. You are now ready to shake.
7. Shake the whole thing four or five times. It doesn't have to be miles away from your body like in the photo - I was just being dramatic about it.8. Remove the charger holder. Replace the charger with the black nubby circle. Screw one of the two tips included with the cream whipper onto the the lid.
9. Frost away. I haven't yet mastered the art of pretty piping with the cream whipper, but it sure is fun!! You can even let your guests do their own frosting. Kids will LOVE it!
What a sweet kitchen gadget! I might be a little tempted to squirt some in my mouth though.
ReplyDeleteYou know, my husband uses one of those to aerate vodka for parties, hehehe. I bet I can steal it from him long enough to whip some cream. Transporting cupcakes with soft frosting has been the bane of my cupcake baking projects!
ReplyDeleteHmmm....how many cupcakes do you think it will do before you have the mess of refilling it 'on site'. Did I miss that? grin...did you say that somewhere?
ReplyDeleteThat is really cool! I have never seen that before! How long do the nitrous canisters last?
ReplyDeleteKamaile - Oh - definitely!
ReplyDeleteIrene - I've never heard of aerating vodka. What's the advantage of that?
Trish - That's a great question. I didn't say. It would depend largely on how much whipped cream you put on each cupcake. So far, I've frosted about 12 cupcakes and haven't run out of whipped cream. I'm not sure if it could do 24, but it probably could if you were conservative in the amount of frosting that you used (though that is hard to do).
Cookies - The starter pack comes with 24 chargers. They are each only good for one filling. After making 24 batches of whipped cream, you would need to buy more chargers. A replacement 24 pack is about $15.
I've been using one of these babies to make whipped cream for years. They're fantastic. I've never tried using them to ice cupcakes but I'm definitely going to try it out now!
ReplyDeleteTrish - Just a quick update. Right after I wrote that comment I went to frost another cupcake and I was out of whipped cream. It looks like if you are going to do a big swirl, it would only do about 12.
ReplyDeleteNow that you have a cream whipper, try using CO2 (carbon dioxide) cartridges instead of nitrous oxide. You can place some washed grapes in the charger, close it up, and charge with a CO2 cartridge. Let the grapes steep in the charger for about 30 minutes in the fridge. When you are ready to serve the grapes, completely discharge all the pressure from the charger, unscrew the cap, and serve the grapes...if you eat the grapes within a few minutes, you'll have "carbonated grapes". You can also use other fruits like chunks of peaches or watermelons.
ReplyDeleteKKLL - I am so glad you said that! I've actually had carbonated grapes and LOVED them! But, I never thought of making them myself. I am going to have to get a CO2 cartridge and try it!
ReplyDeleteAh, this reminds me of my childhood, more than 20 years ago. My mom used to have a thing like that and I loved it. I think I'll call her and ask if she still got it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing. I don't use fresh whipped topping as much as I would like for the same reason. I will have to get myself one of these.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing! Solves a problem and (bonus) is entertaining. I made cupcakes for a baby shower this weekend and wasn't ready by the time the guests arrived, but turned out piping the frosting on those bad boys was highly amusing to the crowd!
ReplyDeleteI saw the comments about CO2, and thought I should post that we will begin carrying CO2 cartridges as well as soon as next week.
ReplyDeleteAfter learning about the different opportunities, I felt it would be a complementary product and contacted the warehouse to send us a case.
PS. We had an issue with the checkout page due to some technical problems but all have been resolved now.
Can we still purchase the whipped cream maker? I attempted to go the link but nothing happens, I guess it has been a few years since this post.
ReplyDelete